Method of making stockings



Nov. 20, 1934. K 5 5 1,981,053

union or MAKING swocxmes Filed Nov. 11 1933 INVENTOR KARL RICH. LIEBERKNECHT A1TORNEY" Patented Nov. 20, 1934 1,981,053 METHOD OF MAKING STOCKINGS Karl R. Lieberknecht, Oberlungwitz, Germany,

assignor to. Kalio Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application November 11, 1933, Serial No. 697,554 In Germany August 24, 1933 1 Claim. (oi. (ac-181) In the knitting of full fashioned stockings on a flat knitting machine it has long been the practice to knit the leg upon a legger and transfer the fabric to a footer for the knitting of the foot This transfer of ,the fabric from one machine to another is accompanied by several unavoidable difficulties. The thread of two different cones is rarely of exactly the same size, color and texture. Therefore, since different cones must necessarily be used in the two machines a line is almost certain to appear in the fabric along the first course knit by the footer. There may also be a distinct difference in .color between the leg fabric and the foot fabric for the same reason. Furthermore, the operation of topping the fabric onto the foot very frequently causes a difference in loop length suflicient to show as a distinct line in the finished fabric and differences in the thread tensionof the two machines may create a notice able variation. in the fabric of .the leg and foot. Since the transfer of the fabric from the legger to the footer is made after the leg has been knit only down to the instep these variations in fabric characteristics or color occur in a most conspicuous position well above the top of theshoe and constitute a very noticeable and objectionable defect.

To avoid these difliculties as well as for several other reasons the single unit flat knitting machine provided with a needle bar having a swingable section has been developed'in recent years upon which the entire stocking is knit as a unit. When the instep is reached although the knitting thereof is discontinued during the knitting of the heel tab the loops are not removed from the needles, instead that section of the needle bar carrying these loops is swung out of knitting position. After the completion and casting 011 of the heel tabs this section of the needle bar is swung back into knitting position and the knitting of the instep continued with the same thread, tension, etc., just as though it had never been interrupted. Therefore, all possibility of lines or variations in the fabric due to the causes mentioned above is eradicated.

However, the majority of hosiery mills are still equipped with footers and leggers of great value which cannot reasonably be discarded in favor of single unit machines. The problem has, there- 'fore, arisen of modifying the leggers and footers so that they may produce fabric having as many of the merits of single unit fabric as possible. It has been found that by' providing a legger with a swingable central section such,v for example, as that disclosed in my United States Letters Patent No. 1,901,757, granted March 14, 1933, the legger may be converted to some extent into the equivalent of a single unit machine. That is to say the substitution of such a needle bar will permit of the knitting of a stocking as a single unit so that the objectionable transfer of the fabric from the legger to the footer when the instep is reached may in some instances be avoided. However, there are serious limitations to this adaptation of the legger. The most perfectly fashioned and, consequently, the mostpopular high grade stocking is that having the French foot with the socalled diamond toe. The knitting'of a stocking of this type upon a legger converted as described above is feasible until the toe is reached since all of the narrowing required may be performed by the usual narrowing equipment with which the legger is provided. This, as is well known, consists of two sets of narrowing points positioned one at either side of the machine section. Such narrowing equipment, however, is insuflicient for the forming of the diamond toe. As is well known, such narrowing requires two sets of narrowing points on each side. There is no space on the legger in which these extra sets of points and their operating connections can be readily installed, particularly if the machine is equipped with a picot attachment as'usually is the case. Therefore, the conversion of a legger into a single unit machine is impracticable for this type of stocking. However, a method of knitting which utilizes a legger as a single unit-machine to overcome the objections of transferring the fabric at the instep or other conspicuous point has'been devised and is the subject of this application. Its nature will be clearly understood from thefollowing descrip'- tion and drawing, of which A Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of a stocking blank as it is ordinarily knit -upon a legger;

Fig. 2 is a-diagrammatic view of a stocking blank knit upon a legger which has been given some of the characteristics of a single unit machine through the substitution of a needle bar having a swingable section in place of the usual solid needle bar; and I Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of the lower part of Fig. 2 and of the completed diamond toe. As shown in Fig. 1 the leg 1 of the stocking 'is knit upon a legger until the instep 2 is reached.

Then the knitting of the heel tabs 3 is performed.

By ordinary-practicethe fabric would then be However, in this inbar having a swingable section as already described, so that this transfer is unnecessary. Instead of removing the fabric from the legger the following knitting method is adopted. When the knitting has progressed to the point at which the knitting of the heel tabs is to begin which is diagrammatically indicated by the broken line 4-4 in Fig. 2, the needles carrying the loops of the instep section are swung out of knitting position, the loops being left hanging on the needles. Then the heel tabs are knit. After these are completed and cast off the instep section of the needle bar is swung back into knitting position and the knitting of the foot portion 5 begun across the entire width of the instep and sole. This is continued until that portion of the toe is reached at which the diamond point narrowing is to begin, diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 3 by the broken line 66. At this point the knitting upon the legger is discontinued and the fabric transferred to a footer provided with the double sets of narrowing points necessary for forming the diamond toe 7. Thereafter the toe is completed upon the footer in the usual way. If there is any difierence in color or texture betweenthis last section of the toe and the rest of the stocking, or any topping, or other lines, they will ordinarily be concealed by the shoe and also will be unnoticeable because the toe portion of the stocking is usually reeni'orced and,

consequently, less sheer and also of a difierent loop length.

In this way a stocking having at least the uniformity of color, texture and loop length in the exposed portions may be obtained upon legger and footer equipment by modifying the latter in an extremely simple way and without altering the footer at all. Therefore, the method is eminently practical and involves a minimum of expense both in machinery and in modified operating procedure.

It will be understood, of course, that this method is not limited to the knitting of stockings having the French foot but may be utilized for the knitting of stockings of any type since the avoidance of the objectionable characteristics referred to is equally desirable in all.

What I claim is:

The method of knitting a stocking having a French heel and foot which consists of knitting the leg as far as the beginning of the heel tabs, then interrupting the knitting of the instep but retaining the instep loops upon the needles, then knitting the heel tabs, then resuming the knitting of the instep and simultaneously knitting the foot as far as the toe, then removing the fabric from the legger and topping it onto a footer and knitting the diamond toe to complete the stocking.

KARL RICH. LIEBERKNECHT. 

